Flash
by Wand and a Paperclip
Summary: 4 years after Voldemort has won, Harry is hiding in the muggle world. Determined to change the present, he decides to take a trip- to the past. Meanwhile, Hermione, Neville, and Luna are also hiding. They haven't seen Harry for 4 years. What happens when Hedwig and a letter show up in their apartment? Currently on hiatus, but I will be returning to it at some point.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well, here's the first chapter of my new story, Flash. This chapter may be a little confusing, but hopefully it will all be explained as the story continues. I hope that you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter.**

* * *

Prologue

Midnight has arrived at an apartment building in downtown London. Most of the stores are closed in this area, and few walk the streets. All the apartments are pitch black, except for one. Apartment 706 stands there, with one light on, the only beacon. It is a small, three-room apartment with a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom.

In the kitchen, a man hunches over a desk, shoulders bent forward and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He is alone, save for a small owl in a cage. He stares at the blank sheet of paper before him, not knowing what to write. It had been 4 years, 2 months, and 16 days since he a plan had been planted in his head, and 4 years, 7 days since everything went spiraling out of control. But it had only been 3 hours, 17 minutes, and 56 seconds since the final product had been complete. He had slept for 3 of those hours, since sleep had not been a priority for years. The only thing that now remained was to make final arrangements for all he was going to leave behind.

Then he will start his plan. His plan is dangerous, deadly even; but he feels it is the only way.

20 minutes later, when all the i's were dotted and the t's crossed, the young man's letter is finished. He puts it in the cage, placing his wand on the letter. He begins to whisper quietly. A clock set for 7:30 materializes on the parchment. With a last tap, the letter seals itself and disappears, along with the owl and the cage.

The man sighs, mentally preparing himself for the next day's events. He moves slowly into his bedroom, and mechanically gets ready for bed. He lies on his bed, shifting from side to side. He thinks about all he will leave behind, but knows this is the only thing to do. He doesn't know where they are, or if they're even alive. So he falls into a restless and reluctant sleep with eyes wide open. As he has done for years.

* * *

"And again," a woman mutters, as if tired of hearing herself say that. "Luna, this time you and I will be together. Neville, you'll be against us." The two other people in the room- a man who is presumably Neville and a younger woman whose name is Luna- nod.

They get into a stance and begin. Spells fly back and forth, no pause at all. "Hermione," Luna calls, "surround and defend! I'll do the offensive. Remember, only Neville can do transformations."

Hermione nods, smiling bitterly, "I forgot, we're taking a break for this round. No breaks in a real fight. Alright, let's go." She speeds to Neville's other side, just as he draws out his dagger. Soon, even greater chaos has entered the room. As spells are being furled towards Luna, the dagger whips back and forth, a blur in the air. But every swipe is being physically blocked by pieces of furniture, pens, conjured bricks, magical shields, and even flying globs of goop.

'Keep going, Neville. Try to back into a wall in order to see them both at the same time. You can do this. Two weapons versus two people,' Neville tried to encourage himself, knowing that what he did here might help him survive in a fight. All of them had long since felt guilt when hurting their enemy, knowing that one more down meant a better chance of survival for them and their loved ones.

Throughout the mock battle, everyone is caught by a curse, or hit by a conjured object. They keep going, reacting to the pain with only a slight wince, but no hesitation.

In the midst of sending spells with all her force, Luna glances at her watch. 1:34 AM blinked back at her in neon lights. She projects the light against the wall, adding a three-minute count down.

Glances at the wall tell her that the countdown was seen, and she continues, putting her full effort forward. They all know that there is no countdown in battle, but they also know that there will be no battle, only defeat, with no sleep. It has already been one hour since they started two on one, as it always is no matter the pairings.

The last spells fly through the air, and suddenly the room is silent except for slight panting, the din deafening. Sweat pours down their faces' as the three get ready for bed. Another day, out of many, that they have been stuck in this place. No one comes in or out, no one even knows they are there.

Hermione adds a mark to their makeshift calendar, "It is November 30th. We've been here for… 1, 464 days. I can take the first watch tonight."

Luna and Neville don't argue, and just nod sleepily. "I'll wake you in an hour and a half, like always. So that will be… 3:30. We'll wake up at 6:30. Try to get some sleep. The two fall back, exhausted.

Hermione's watch passes slowly. She has this feeling that something is going to happen, and she can't shake it. She hopes it will have something to do with Harry. They haven't heard from him since he disappeared that day 4 years and 7 days ago, 4 days before they had found their hiding spot. They have no idea where he went, whether he was alive or dead, in Voldemort's keeping or alone. She sits and waits for her watch to be over, then wakes Neville and falls into a terrible sleep.

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**A/N: Well, that's the prologue. Sorry, it's a little short. I will try to update once a week, but it may change because I am also working on another story called My Fire.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's chapter 1. This will go into more explanation about what happened last chapter. Please enjoy! **Harry woke up on the morning of December 1st to a chill in the air. It was crisp, and Harry knew that winter was arriving for 2002. He also knew that he would no longer be around to see the rest of it.

Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was a mess, but looked better than he had in years. He still had huge bags under his eyes, and scars littered his body; but his cheeks were not as sunken, and he had been getting back into shape. He also knew that his reflection would be changing soon.

Glancing around to make sure that no muggles could see in, Harry began to change his appearance with glamours. "Well, I have to make it a light brown," he muttered to himself. "And my eyes are blue. Now for the scar."

Harry applied muggle makeup to his scar, making sure to cover it completely. He then added a sticking charm to it, to prevent it from fading or rubbing off. "There, that should do it." Once again, he stared at his reflection. But now, it didn't look like what it had a few years ago. Sure, his hair still stuck up in some places, and he was the same height. Other than that, though, he looked completely different. He felt fairly reassured that no one from the Wizarding World would recognize him. He had been using this disguise for the past 4 years, but only around muggles. He hoped that it would hold up with wizards as well.

Looking around the apartment, Harry sighed. "I'm going to miss you," he said. "You've been a great place to hide out, and a perfect work space. Time to introduce Caleb Hoddans to 1990."

Harry checked his watch, "7:02. Perfect timing." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and held onto the tiny slip of paper.

Taking a deep breath and brandishing his wand, Harry read the words on the paper.

His wand twirled, moving this way and that, his voice amplified throughout the apartment. _"Tempore vices et,"_ a knock sounded at the door, and Harry's concentration was broken, but he knew he would have to complete the spell or something worse would happen, _"cogitationes ad novam."_

But as he disappeared, the old caretaker entered and getting nervous he dropped the paper. Luckily, the old man's eyes weren't what they used to be, so he didn't believe what he had seen. The blinding flash had overwhelmed him, and he missed the paper floating to the floor.

Tying to register what he had heard and seen, the man blinked rapidly, and then shook his head. "You're getting too old for this, Nades, too old," he mumbled. Suddenly, he looked down and below him was a wad of money and a note.

Mr. Nades, if you are reading this, then I have left. Thank you for your years of care. Take the rent money and give it to the manager. The rest is for you, a thank you for spending time with me. I left late last night, and had no time to say goodbye. Hopefully, I will see you at some point in the future.

- Caleb Hoddans

Alan Nades shook his head, "Teens these days!" He said, fully aware that 'Caleb' was no teen.

With a spin, the newly named Caleb Hoddans appeared in a burst of light, at a secluded field in the middle of the Scottish Highlands. Checking his watch, he noticed it was 7:26, on December 1, 1976.

Caleb groaned, "Uggh, damn Mr. Nades! I love that man, but he scared me and I couldn't concentrate… and now, instead of being in 1991, I'm in 1976. This isn't good, not good at all…" He trailed off. "Wait, what let's think; what would Hermione do?

"First of all, she would figure out where she was," Caleb looked to his left, and noticed a small grove of trees in a circular shape. He looked a little relieved. "Oh, good. I am in the right place. But, where's Potter Manor?" Suddenly, a revelation hit him. He realized that his parents hadn't built Potter Manor yet. That was why his home wasn't there, only the trees on his left and the rock formation on his right.

When a Potter patriarch or matriarch got engaged, the couple would design a home for themselves, to see how well they got through challenges together. His parents had chosen this location for their manor, since it was in a magically strong area and his mother had fallen in love with it when they went camping. Caleb sighed. He and Hermione had already picked the location of their house out, even though he had not officially proposed yet. Now he would never have that.

Remembering the spells he had put on himself prior to leaving, Caleb pulled out a mirror. He glanced in it and groaned, realizing that glamours and sticking charms don't stay on through time. Luckily, the muggle make-up had. He wouldn't have to reapply it just then. Now he would just have to monitor when to reapply the muggle makeup. He began rummaging through his head, trying to figure out what to do, since his plan had to be changed.

Sitting in contemplation, Caleb had forgotten that he had something to do there, not just reminisce. Glancing down, he realized that he had been sitting there for just under 2 hours, and he had to leave. As he apparated away, Caleb felt the twinge of a location spell being conducted on him. Wincing, he wanted to slam his head against a wall. He had been so used to having the protection against the location spell already in place, on his person, home, and possessions. Only now did he remember that changing time periods caused protection spells to be whipped away. He had been so focused on reapplying the charms that he had forgotten about everything else. He decided not to worry about that for now, he had other things to think about. For one, he realized that dropping the paper was not good. Now anyone could follow him.

Deciding to figure everything out later, he apparated away. Caleb arrived about 100 meters away from a foreboding fortress. He took a deep breath before heading up to the doors.

* * *

Hermione was awoken at 6:30 on the morning of December 1, 2002 feeling not quite awake yet, having only slept for two hours. She was used to it, however, so she swung her feet onto the cold floor and stood up. She thanked Luna for waking her, and left to make breakfast. Hermione felt that Luna and Neville could have a few minutes of alone time as she cooked.

Neville and Luna had gotten together about half a year after the three of them had run away.

_Flashback_

_The three friends had just finished sword practice for the day, and Neville was muttering 'scourgify' at the small remains of the dummies, strewn around every which way. Hermione was cleaning the swords and putting them safely away. _

_Luna was feeling terrible after sword practice. She and her father had had mock fights when she was younger, and he was the one who had taught her how to wield a sword and shield. He had thought it would come in handy when fighting the lead Cornish Pixie on their way to finally finding the Crumple Horned Snorkacks._

_In turn, she had taught many members of the Order and DA, and was now teaching Hermione and Neville the more complex and difficult elements. It was hard for her sometimes, because it reminded her of having to leave the only family that she had, and him being alone. As she sat down on the bed, she began to cry, "I don't even know if my father is alive, or where he is, or what the Death Eaters have done to him!"_

_Hermione and Neville ran to Luna's side, understanding and even sharing in her grief from their experiences. "Shhh… shhh, once we get these animagus forms complete, we can check up on him, alright?"_

"_Yeah," Neville added, "I'm sure he knows that he is on their list, and has gone on a vacation to find the Crumple Horned Snorkack, or something else."_

_Luna nodded, and Hermione went to do more cleaning up, knowing that the two should be alone. She had seen that Neville fancied Luna, and Luna fancied him. On many occasions, she had encouraged both of them to take a step. _

_Neville sat down next to Luna. She leaned into him as he placed his arms around her. He let her, and kissed the top of her head._

_She jerked up in surprise._

"_S-s-sorry," Neville stammered, "I wasn't thinking." _

_Luna chuckled softly, "It's alright. I've… I've been wanting you to do that for a while."_

"_Really," Neville exclaimed._

"_Of course! Why wouldn't I? You're nice, and handsome, and gentle. You're incredibly brave, and never make fun of me, even when I act strange."_

"_Luna, you know that your odd ways were just a defense mechanism so you didn't get hurt! Anyway, even if it weren't, I would still lo- like you. While you be my girlfriend? _

"_Neville, I-"_

"_I mean I know that you were just saying that other stuff, and didn-_

"_Neville. Sto-_

"_I get it, it's okay. Really. I shouldn't have ev-_

"_NEVILLE," Luna said sternly. "Stop talking. Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, and as your girlfriend I am going to help you with that confidence! You are amazing and capable, but you need more confidence!"_

_Luna hugged Neville hard, and then quickly pecked him on the lips. He stared at her for a moment, and then wrapped his arms around her. He slowly moved forward, and put his hand on her cheek. He bent down and their lips met for the first, but certainly not last, time. _

_Flashback Ends_

Hermione smiled at the memory. She had spied on them during that time, but from then on let them get some privacy. They needed it! They seldom had such joy these days, and it was nice whenever they could just let go even for just a few minutes.

Hermione softly padded into the small kitchen and pulled out three plates, bread, and jam, and put hot water on the stove. She grabbed three cups, setting out the tea and coffee. Leaning against the counter, she sighed. The teakettle whistled, interrupting her thoughts. She poured the hot water into a mug, wrapping her hands around it to feel the warmth. Adding a tea bag to her mug, she prepared Neville's coffee and Luna's tea. The three had a morning ritual; the morning was the calmest and most peaceful time for them.

Luna and Neville entered the room. Luna smiled, "Thanks, Mione."

They all sat down to eat. Quickly eating, they began to discuss their plan for the day. Each day was the same, but it gave them some sense of freedom, talking about what they wanted to do for the day.

"Okay, so first we have our Krav Maga. Then, we'll make up a list of things we need from the outside world. This afternoon, we'll do with transformations and swords. Sounds good?" Neville planned.

The other two nodded. "Let's go. Last one there's a rotten egg," Luna yelled as she ran to the exercise room. The three of them had shied away from 'last one there's a squib,' and turned to the muggle saying.

Hermione arrived in the room last, "Not fair! You so had a head start." She laughed, "Well, everyone's in a good mood today!"

Neville smirked, "Yep. Now, onto Krav Maga!"

Their exercise room, consisting of yoga mats, weights, and an elliptical, was also their living room, study, and whatever else they happened to needed to do. At 7:15, when their Krav Maga practice was done, Hermione sighed, "Let's change things up a little today. Why don't we do sword and shooting practice now? I can get the dummies set up in here if you can get the swords and guns. I know we know how to do all of this, but you know we've got to practice over and over."

And just like that, the good mood dissipated. Neville crossed his arms, as though this was a reoccurring argument, "Hermione, we don't know if anyone else is out there! We don't know anything that's going on, whether our families are alive, dead, or insane, or what Voldemort is doing now! We have no idea. We need to… well, find out what's going on outside."

"We have been outside," Hermione protested.

Neville shook his head, "Hermione, you know I mean to the wizarding world, not the muggle world. We need to go to the wizarding world! We can use glamours and other things."

"Fine," Hermione conceded. "We'll go in one month, and use Polyjuice."

"Okay," Luna nodded. "Sounds good."

She set up the dummies, as Neville and Hermione got the knives, swords and guns. Once they had their protective gear on, they began. Knives flew through that air, followed by swinging swords and loud shots; it was good that they could use magic. They didn't use it all the time, like cleaning dishes, or washing clothes. Those they liked doing the muggle way, it was rhythmic. They used it for spell practice and conjuring.

As they worked, the dummies reconstructed themselves, and then began to fight back. Now, the dummies began spinning their own swords. Suddenly, Hermione heard an ear-piercing shriek. She canceled the spells on the dummies, and ran into the kitchen where the sound was coming from.

"Luna, Neville," she called. "Get over here!"

In the kitchen sat a snowy-white owl in a cage, with a letter inside. Luna and Neville ran over as Hermione slowly opened it.

"Well," Luna smiled. "Hedwig sure knows how to make an entrance!"

"What is Hedwig doing here," Neville asked slowly.

"A letter was also in the cage," Hermione replied shakily. "It'll probably help clear up some of the confusion. Hermione opened the letter and read it. "What does it say," Luna asked. Hermione handed her the letter.

"Dear Hermione and anyone else who's with her," Luna began to read out loud.

"If you are reading this, then I have decided to move. I am testing out my invention, and it's too dangerous where I live now. This should be fairly relaxing, but it could also be quite… frenzied. Don't come visit, please. I'd like to just be alone and try to relax, test it out.

I'd like to ask you two favors (well, three if you count not checking up on me). One, please look after Hedwig for me. I'm was afraid she would get hurt, so I didn't take her."

At this, Hedwig hooted indignantly.

"Two, please go to my old apartment and pick up my things. Tell Mr. Alan Nades that you're friends of mine, and he'll let you get my things that I had to leave behind. You remember him, don't you? He's the one who was fascinated with the speed of light and starlight. He probably won't remember you, I'm afraid. Anyway, tell him I say hello. You can come in through the back alley. It is much less crowded than the front parking lot. I love you all (whoever's there),

Caleb Hoddans"

"I…I…It's Harry!" Hermione chocked out. "He wrote this! He's going somewhere; we have to go to…to his apartment. We have to go. Come on!"

Luna and Neville shared a glance. Luna smiled softly, "Hermione, how do you know this is him? This could be a trap. How could anyone find us here? And why couldn't he have found us here years ago? Also, how could we get to his apartment? We couldn't find him for 4 years! How could we find him now?"

"Well, I know it's him because if we ever had a boy, his name was going to be Caleb. We both loved the name. And Hoddans, that was a neighbor of the Potters. We visited him before the battle, and got pictures and a lot of stories. We wanted to go back and thank him, maybe even ask about letting him into the Code of Secrecy. So it's him. And… and… and, we can get there from two things. One; we have Mr. Nades' name. We can look up an Alan Nades that is fairly old, since he wouldn't remember us if we had met him, although there are probably many Alan Nades'… The other way is that this is a portkey. We just have to say starlight. We'll end up on the back alley. We have to try!"

Neville raised his eyebrows, "How do you know that starlight is the password?"

Hermione sighed, "Well, that was the last thing he ever said to me. He told me that if I was ever lost and didn't know what to do, to look at the stars and the light would guide me. He told me to follow the starlight. He knew that I would get it, even now."

Neville nodded, "Alright, we'll go. But we need to be ready for anything. Let's wear muggle clothes, and bring wizarding robes, our knives, swords and wands. That way if anything happens, we'll be ready. We should also have an emergency portkey back to here, just in case."

"Okay," both Luna and Hermione consented. "That sounds good, let's grab some packs with all of that, our emergency kit, food and water. Then we can go."

A few minutes later, they circled the letter, each placing a finger on it. Luna grabbed Hedwig, and they were ready. "Starlight," three voices chorused. One more, loud crack and they were gone.

Arriving in a dark alley, Luna made Hedwig invisible before turning to head to the front.

"On second thought," Neville added. "We should probably just turn her into a smaller bird instead. Hey Hedwig, how would you like being… a parakeet?" And with that, Hedwig's white feathers turned into bright greens, reds, and blues. She shrunk a good four inches, but still had her same glare, as if to say that she was too dignified for this.

The three friends plus Hedwig walked around to the front of the building and entered. As they approached the front desk, a woman peered at them through her glasses, glaring at Hedwig. She had black hair that was plaited in one long braid down her back and hoop earrings. She wore a gray t-shirt that said 'London Times Residence' and had a pin that read 'Abby Jones'. They approached her cautiously.

"Yeah," Abby asked. "What do you want?"

"Hi, we were looked for a man named Alan Nades. Do you know where we could find him?" Luna asked.

"You mean old Nades? Yeah, you can find him on level 3, room 309." Abby replied.

"Thanks," Neville replied, running to catch up with his friends. They jogged up the three flights of stairs, and turned into the hallway.

Reaching room 309, they all paused for a moment. "Mr. Nades, are you there?" Luna knocked.

A few moments later, an elderly man with blue eyes and grey hair opened the door. "Yes," he asked kindly. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Neville nodded. "Actually, yes. Thank you, sir. We're friends of Caleb Hoddans and-"

A look of surprise crossed the man's face. "Wait, you're Caleb's friends? How come I haven't seen any of you around here before? And why are you here now? And that sure is a pretty bird you've got there!"

"Thank you. Her name's Hedwig. Anyway," Neville continued, trying to remember all of the questions asked. "We didn't know where he was. We've been trying to find him for about four years now. This morning we got a letter saying that he had left and wanted us to clean out his apartment. We're not sure why he hasn't contacted us before, but he hasn't. He gave us the address in the letter, and told us to ask you for help. So that's why we're here."

Mr. Nades smiled. "Why, yes of course I'll help you! Lovely boy, that Caleb was. Only one who wanted to befriend the old supervisor! Anyway, we can head up to his room now." As they started to walk, he continued talking. "It was all very mysterious. I went up to his room this morning to say hello, bring him some coffee. I knocked and he didn't answer. When I went in, no one was there. I saw a bright flash, and that was it. I think I'm getting a little old for this," he sighed, shaking his head. "Well, here we are. Oh, I forgot to ask your names! Maybe Caleb spoke of you."

The three friends exchanged glances. Neville spoke up, "My name's Neville. This," he indicated to his right, "is Luna. And this," nodding to the left, "is Hermione."

Nr. Nades raised his eyebrows, "So you're the famous Hermione! Don't think a day went by when he didn't talk about you; how smart you were, how pretty, how brave." He turned to Neville and Luna, "Now you two, don't mean to offend you at all, but he didn't talk about you quite as much. Still," he murmured, "I would be happy if he talked about me half as much as Hermione over here."

Luna and Neville chuckled, while Hermione tried to look indignant.

"No, no. He did talk about you two quite often. He spent all his time talking about friends. Neville, he said that you are quite good with plants, but don't have much confidence. Seems to me like that's changed a little! And you, Luna was it? Yes, he talked about how you're brilliant and have the most amazing imagination. I probably know almost as much about you as you know about yourself! He also talked about his parents quite a lot. Sound like amazing people. Too bad they died when he was little," he finished sadly. "Anyway, come on in! It gets tiring, hearing an old man jabber on."

He turned the key to room 706, and the four of them entered. They looked around, and smiled. It was entirely Harry, or Caleb. The apartment was sparsely decorated, but had pictures on the walls. There was one of his parents, one of Professor McGonagall, one of Sirius, and one of Remus. They took the pictures down and placed them in a box that Caleb had left.

"Wow," Hermione smiled wanly. "I guess he's more organized than last time I saw him! He left us packing boxes for all of his things. Well, let's get started."

They took pictures from the walls, cleared out cabinets, and emptied drawers. Luna found a muggle picture of the four of them in one of the drawers. "Look at us! We're so young…" She trailed off. Mr. Nades hurried over, "that's Caleb? He looks so carefree and relaxed!"

Harry had his arm around Hermione, Luna and Neville were standing next to them. The Whomping Willow was behind them, but it was a muggle photograph. They were all smiling and laughing. It was during 5th year, right before Christmas vacation.

Hermione had tears in her eyes as she put the picture down. "Come on, let's keep cleaning up. I'm sure there's more to find."

An hour and a half later, almost the whole apartment was packed up. They let Mr. Nades keep everything large, but kept the rest of his personal belongings. As they were taking everything out, Hermione suddenly did a double take, looking down. "Guys, there's a piece of paper over here with… Latin on it." She brought her voice down to a whisper so that Mr. Nades wouldn't hear them. He was busy looking at a book on the Scottish Highlands. "It says- tempore vices et cogitationes ad novam, and has a diagram for the wand movements."

"Well," Neville asked. "What does it mean?"

"It means," Hermione continued, "Turn time and thoughts to a new dimension. So, I guess he… Oh no, Holy Helga Hufflepuff! This is…" Hermione started to sputter indignantly. "This is implausible! He went back in time."

"He may have, but it also says a new dimension, so he went to a new dimension as well. He can't change this future, then." Luna tried to be comforting, "It's a good and bad thing. So, when do you think he went back to?"

Neville shrugged. "It's probably easy to mess up, since it seems like you have to think the time period, not say it. He may have been trying to go to one place, and ended up in another. So, it would be too hard to figure out."

"We have to follow him. I don't care if he said not to," Hermione replied. "The only problem is that we don't know when he went to."

"Well, isn't that obvious? We just have to use the locator spell. Simple enough." Luna stated.

"Okay… That would make sense. Most spells have to be reapplied after time travel. Knowing Harry, well he'd forget."

"Who's Harry?" A new voice added to the conversation.

"Oh, hi Mr. Nades. Harry is another friend of ours, very forgetful." Hermione stammered.

"I see, I haven't heard about that chap! Well, I have to get going! Sorry to interrupt. It was lovely meeting you. You can stay up here for as long as you want. Y'know, I'm really going to miss Caleb," a tear rolled down Mr. Nades' cheek.

"Yeah," Neville replied. "We did too, for the past four years. Hopefully we'll both see him soon."

"Hopefully, son. Bye bye!" And with that, Mr. Nades went back downstairs, leaving the scheming friends behind.

"Okay, so let's do it! Locus." Hermione paused for a moment, and then groaned in disbelief. "He's in 1976! When we get there, I am so going to kill him!"

"We have our backpacks, everything we're going to need. Let's just shrink the boxes and stick them in." Once they had done that, they were ready. "On three. One, two, three!"

"Tempore vices" Wind began to swirl around them as they moved their wands and spoke. "Et cogitations." A blinding light began to envelop them as they finished the spell. "Ad novam!"

It didn't seem possible, but the blinding light became even brighter for one moment, and then flashed out of existence. Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Hedwig were nowhere to be seen. The spell had worked.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter two! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and hopefully you'll see why. I'm not entirely happy with the ending part, but I just wanted to post this chapter. I hope that you enjoy!**

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Walking up to the castle, Caleb's throat tightened and tears threatened to fall down his face. It had been so long since he had seen it, and the last time he had been there it was burning to the ground in a raging fire that had killed almost everyone he knew and loved.

Shaking his head to clear it, he tried to concentrate on what he was going to say and do. Arriving at the door, he took knock twice before the doors opened to a scraggly man with a hunchback, carrying an old and ugly cat that looked as if she wanted to maul him.

"What'd you want?" the caretaker, Argus Filch asked.

Caleb had a hard time restraining himself from punching the man in the face. Filch had rounded up the muggleborns and delivered them to Dolores Umbridge. "Hello? I am looking for a Professor Dumbledore."

"What do ya' need with 'im?" Filch asked.

"To speak with him," Caleb said harshly.

"Follow me," Filch replied grudgingly. They arrived in front of a statue of a gargoyle. "Peppermint toads," Filch muttered. The gargoyle turned and revealed a spiral staircase behind him. Filch nodded, "Head on up. The headmaster's up there."

Caleb nodded and let out a tight-lipped "thank you". He headed up the stairs and knocked on the door. Hearing a light "Come in!" He opened the door and walked in.

Caleb's blood boiled in his veins as he stared at the man who had ruined his and so many others lives for the so-called 'greater good.'

Forcing himself to swallow the bitter feeling, Caleb tried to smile. "Good day, sir. I am here for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. My name is Caleb Hoddans, and I am 22. My parents home schooled me since they were Ministry employees and we moved around quite often. I still took my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Here are my scores."

Caleb had forged the grades, a trick he had been taught by the twins before they died.

Dumbledore nodded. "Everything looks to be in order. Now, a few questions. Why do you want to be the Defense teacher?"

"I have experience in dueling and spells, as well as muggle fighting skills."

Dumbledore was impressed, but said nothing yet. "Alright, and why did you come here of all places?"

"You had an open position."

"Do you have any previous qualifications?"

"Well," Caleb had decided on this before. "I helped write for newspapers around the world, but have no documentation of this. I had to write under cover in order to protect my family. My parents are retired now so they agreed that it was alright if I taught under my real name."

After a few more questions, Dumbledore nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. The children will be arriving soon, so I would like to request that we duel in front of the students to make sure that you are competent and to entertain the students."

"Of course," Caleb nodded. "I would just like to make sure that we will putting up protection so the students do not get hit by stray spells, and no unforgivables or other dark curses. Agreed?"

"Of course," Dumbledore agreed, although inside he was fuming. This man was already starting to figure out his loopholes. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Caleb nodded, and Dumbledore led him to the Great Hall.

He arrived in the Great Hall and had to force himself not to let the tears fall. For the first time he was really seeing his parents. His dad sat down and ruffled his hair. Sirius and Remus came in and the three friends started to talk. They joked and laughed, but all of it seemed a bit forced. Caleb saw his mom sitting with three other people, two of which he assumed were Neville's parents, Frank Longbottom and Alice Froder. The last one looked similar to Alice, but not very similar to Neville. Caleb realized that it must have been another Froder, maybe a sibling. He would find out. They smiled and talked, excited to be back at school. But they, too, seemed more subdued than they normally would. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Caleb turned. Groaning, he saw Peter Pettigrew. He had forgotten about him with all the excitement that had gone on that morning. He didn't know how he was gong to keep himself from strangling the man that had been the cause of so many deaths, including his parents'.

Sighing, Caleb realized that the war had already started to take over. He had always been told that his father was a prankster, even worse than the twins were. He had always thought that his father was an arrogant jerk, and his pranks were hurtful. But here his father was, just speaking quietly with his friends, a fake smile plastered onto his face, half chuckling at a joke once in a while. Before he could contemplate anything else, Professor McGonagall brought in the first years.

"Boys and girls, this is the Sorting Hat. You will put it on your head, and it will tell you what house you belong in," Professor McGonagall explained. "You house will be your home during your time here, and your housemates will be your surrogate family." When Professor McGonagall was finished, the Sorting Hat opened the brim of its mouth and began to sing.

"**B**e careful with house boundaries

Don't let them restrain,

Break free of the disputes,

Don't be the cause of pain

**T**o beat this new threat,

We all must act as one,

Working together,

Is the only way to get this done

**M**eshing our abilities,

Into a well oiled machine,

Is how all you students,

Will live past seventeen

**L**isten to this warning,

And be friends with someone new,

Or else our world as we know it,

Will have little chance to pull through

**B**ear that in mind,

But don't let it scar,

We still have our houses,

Let me explain what they are

**F**irst there are the Gryffindors,

Maybe rash but chivalrous and daring,

They jump into anything,

Not afraid of any glaring

**T**hen come the Ravenclaws,

Wit is their greatest treasure,

They love to learn and teach others,

Their intelligence bears no measure

**T**he Hufflepuffs are next,

Hardworking, loyal and true.

They will do anything

To make sure a friend gets through

**F**inally the Slytherins,

With cunning and ambition,

Will be as manipulative as they must,

To finish out their mission.

**D**on't be afraid

Just try me on,

I'll do my best

And tell you where you belong"

"Brens, Gina," Professor McGonagall said. A timid girl with black hair slowly walked over to the sorting hat and placed it on her head. After a moment's hesitation, the hat came to a decision. "GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted. Gina took off the hat and ran to the Gryffindor table where she was greeted with cheers and claps on the shoulder.

Professor McGonagall glanced down at her parchment. "Carin, Lucy"

She sat on the stool for a good four minutes before the hat made a decision, "RAVENCLAW"

It went on like this for a while before getting to "Welin, Henry" who was sorted into "SLYTHERIN".

By the end, Caleb had counted up 7 new Gryffindors, 10 Hufflepuffs, 11 Ravenclaws, and 9 Slytherins.

Dumbledore stood up and began to speak. "For those of you returning students, welcome back! For you first years, welcome to Hogwarts. Now eat! For that is the beginning to any good education." With that, Dumbledore sat down and the food appeared.

Caleb helped himself to food before turning to Professor McGonagall, whom was seated on his left. "Hello," he introduced himself. "My name is Caleb Hoddans and I am the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

She looked at him. "Hello, I am Professor McGonagall, but as you are staff, you may call me Minerva. I am the Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts, the Head of Gryffindor House, and the Deputy Headmistress. I must warn you, for years, no Defense teacher has stayed for over one year. I do hope that you are a sight better than the last teacher! He couldn't tell the difference between the unforgivables and lumos."

Caleb laughed, "Well, I do know the difference between those two. You'll be able to see some of my abilities after dinner, as some entertainment. Professor Dumbledore," here he winced slightly, almost undetectable unless looking for it, "has requested that I duel him to show if I am suitable for the defense position."

"That should be interesting," she exclaimed. "Careful, Albus is one of the best duelers of our time, or ever in that case. Here's some advice; keep moving. While an amazing duelist, he's old. He can't move as well as he used to."

"Tha-" Caleb got cut off.

"Boys and girls, I hope you enjoyed your dinner! I know I certainly did. A little too much, I think." Dumbledore glanced down at his stomach and chuckled. "Anyway, I regret to inform you that Professor Tagel resigned over the summer. I spent the rest of it looking for a replacement and found none. This morning, however, a young man entered my office requesting this position. To make my final decision, he and I will be dueling. Professor McGonagall will be mediating. Mr. Hoddans, are you ready?"

Caleb stood up and walked to the center of the stage. The students began to whisper excitedly. Doing a quick charm, Caleb listened in to his father's conversation.

"He looks so young!" Remus murmured. "He can't be that good."

Sirius laughed. "Oh, he can be that good. My guess is that he'll last for a while, but not win. Remember, I come from a family of duelers. Andy, the one who married Ted Tonks, she could have rivaled Dumbledore when she was 17. But beat him? This guy, he looks like he's good, but not that good."

James turned his head to the side, scrutinizing Caleb. "How old do you think he is? 20?"

"I don't know," Sirius concluded. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

The two boys kept talking until Remus shushed them. "Guys, stop it! They're about to start!" With that, Caleb took the charm off. While he was listening, Professor McGonagall had put up protections and had been explaining the rules to the few students that were paying attention.

"Are you both ready and in stance?" she asked. The two duelers bowed to each other, inclining their backs only slightly forward. "Three, two, one!" The count down was complete and the dueling ensued.

Soon, spells were being ricocheted back and forth. The students were trying hard to see what was happening, but failed. Dumbledore seemed as if to stay in the same place, while no one could spot where Caleb was. He kept moving around, twisting and turning, dodging. The students were awed to silence; only the occasional whisper of "Dumbledore seems to be slowing down" or "I hope they don't kill each other!" could be heard. Soon, it wasn't just charms and spells being used. Glasses, silverware, plates and other objects were flying through the air, crashing and breaking. All of a sudden, Dumbledore landed flat on his back, with ropes tied around him.

No one could say how it had happened. Even Caleb. A din fell over the room, while Caleb untied Dumbledore. He didn't seem apologetic at all, but nodded to himself as if figuring something out.

Dumbledore looked shaken. "Well, it appears that we have an amazing Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Professor Hoddans and help him learn his way around our school. Use him well! Onto the announcements," he continued. "You will be getting your schedules tomorrow at breakfast. For the first years, teachers and prefects will be around to help you to your classes. Quidditch tryouts will be posted in your common room. Not first years are allowed to attend. Anything else?" He asked McGonagall.

"I would like to remind you all," she started in her Scottish brogue. "That a list of forbidden items is posted. You would do well to heed it. For first through fourth years, on weekdays your curfew is 10:00 and on weekends 11:00. Fifth through seventh year, it is 11:00 on weekdays and 12:00 on weekends. If something is wrong with the grounds please let a teacher or our Groundskeeper, Hagrid, know. And one more reminder; do not go near the Whomping Willow. It will do you no good!"

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you Professor McGonagall. Everyone off to bed! Get a lovely night of sleep. First years, follow your prefects. All other years, goodbye. Sleep well and don't let the bedbugs bite!"

Back in his office, Dumbledore was fuming, but partly excited. He tried to tell himself that the only reason that Caleb won was because he was surprised and amazed that this young man had dueling skills, but knew that it was just an excuse. Although he wouldn't admit it, he knew that if it came down to it, Caleb would win every time. Well, almost. All he needed to do was find his weakness. At the same time, he knew that if he could get Caleb to his side, Caleb would be invaluable. His dueling skills and his ability to think on his feet were amazing. Watching him was exhilarating, but too fast to be of any help for his own skills.

Cursing his age, he turned to firecall Caleb and put on his grandfather act.

Remembering that he wasn't supposed to know his way around the castle, once the meal was over, Caleb turned to Minerva. "Excuse me Minerva, I was wondering if you could show me around the castle quickly and then to my room. I was not shown earlier."

"Oh, of course! Come along. I don't know why the Headmaster didn't show you himself, but I'm happy to do it. Our castles a bit of a labyrinth, with concealed doors and passages." She began her tour as they walked out of the Great Hall and went around. Caleb had a hard time not running through the halls to all of his favorite places. She showed him the common rooms, the Headmaster's office, all of the teacher's offices and classrooms, the teacher's conference room, all the exits, and described the trick doors and staircases. They ended at the defense classroom.

They went into the classroom, and she pointed out a space in the wall. "Say a password into it. When you or anyone else says the password, a knob will appear, and they can go in. For this first time, say your name and occupation. It will take about 3 seconds for it to check to make sure you are not being insincere, then will glow green. When that happens, say your password."

"Thank you," Caleb shook her hand. "I really appreciate it. I probably won't remember half of it by tomorrow, but there you go. Have a good night."

"You too, Caleb. Better get some sleep; you'll have a long day tomorrow. Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to warn you. Your NEWT class, they'll be… a bit competitive in a bad way. Watch out especially for James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. They're good kids, but rambunctious. They often get into fights with Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. Just… be careful. You're young, and they'll try to take advantage of that.

"Anyway, I'm sure you'll do well. What's your schedule?" She asked.

Caleb pulled out his schedule. "Well, I have first year Hufflepuff and Slytherin, then third year Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, then my seventh year NEWT class. I'm going to guess that's the one I need to watch for.

"Well, I have to finalize a few things before tomorrow, so I'll see you tomorrow in the Great Hall. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it." Caleb finished.

"I hope it helps. Goodnight." With that, Minerva left.

Caleb looked around the room that he had been in a myriad of times over the years, but this time with a juxtaposed view. He was now a teacher, rather than a student. He positioned his hand on the wall. "Caleb Hoddans, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts."

A few seconds later, the door glowed green. "Well, well, well," it spoke. "Someone's lying about his name. And to Professor Dumbledore, not a great idea!" It stated in a sing-songy voice. Caleb just glared at it. "Well then," it grumbled. "Can't have any amusement? Just say your password."

"Starlight."

A knob materialized, and Caleb walked in. There were two rooms, a bedroom and a bathroom. The bedroom was plain, but perfect for his needs. With a bed, desk, bookshelf and two windows, it was a quaint room. The windows looked out over the grounds. Caleb sighed; Hedwig would have loved flying from here.

Its few decorations included a small fireplace and what was then an empty picture frame. Caleb assumed that the people in the painting were off somewhere else in the castle. He sat down on the bed and pulled out the lesson plans that he had prepared. He took out some of his things and went back into the classroom He organized it, putting everything into a designated spot. He finished at around 1:00 AM, and sighed resignedly. Surveying the room, he seemed satisfied with what he had done. He walked back into the bedroom and sank onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Ah… Luna? Do you mind getting off of my leg? Thanks!" Hermione laughed. She felt better than she had in years. They had fallen in 1976 in a disgruntled heap, and quickly got themselves organized.

They had landed near the place where Hermione had lived before going to Hogwarts. It was a suburban neighborhood, surrounded by beautiful hills and a forest. Hermione had loved playing there as a little girl. Neville ran to a nearby grocery store that Hermione had alerted him to. They had had to survive on nature when they didn't have a safe house, but there was a store close to their location, and they were not currently being chased. Hermione and Luna were preparing their next moves. Agreeing that "Caleb's" ideas were fairly foreseeable once you knew him well, they thought that he would go to Hogwarts. It was his first real home, and the place where he had felt the happiest, that he could remember of course.

This was the first time in years that Hermione, Luna, and Neville were able to have any tranquility, and wanted to make the most of it. Doubting that anything would happen to "Caleb" in the few days that it would take for them to get to Hogwarts, they decided to take some expeditious walks to enjoy the outdoors, and would transport to Hogwarts predominantly by bus. Once they got to Diagon Alley, though, they would have to apparate to Hogwarts and conceal themselves with glamours. The Hogwarts Express didn't run there other than going to and from breaks.

Neville came back bearing some bags with fruit, bread, nuts, and other items. It didn't matter if it was perishable or not because they could just put spells on the food to keep it from becoming rotten.

Packing the food away, Hermione zipped up her backpack and threw it over her shoulder, "Ready to go?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope that you liked this chapter! I was very proud of my sorting hat song... It's original. Please tell me what you think of it!**


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